A Daffodil Moment

I had a daffodil moment today.

All in my family know what a daffodil moment is.  It's a moment when blessing hits you so hard that you are overcome by it.  We call it a daffodil moment because once, when we were on a trip, we ate in this quaint little restaurant for breakfast.  There were freshly cut daffodils on the table, white linen tablecloths - very picturesque.  All of a sudden my mother just started bawling.  We were a little weirded out.  What's the problem?  And she explained that she was simply so thankful for us, my dad, this trip, the daffodils - basically, she was overcome with gratefullness for what she had been given.  We have fondly coined the phrase "daffodil moment."

Today, we went to the Kansas City Zoo with our kids and their cousins.  Charlie fell and hurt his knee and had a ridiculously long upset.  Normally he cries for a minute or so and then bounces right back.  He cried, moaned, and wanted to be held for probably thirty minutes before I realized what was going on - the boy was sick.  His forehead was hot and his neck and back were burning up.  I told my family that I was going to take him on the air tram and we would sit by the entrance until they were done.

My sweet boy curled up next to me on the bench and cried for an entire round-trip air tram ride.  I think he was trying to go to sleep but just couldn't do it with all the sights and sounds and the wind.  It started to get chilly, so I asked him if he wanted to sit up on my lap.  Yes, he did.  I helped him crawl up into my lap, fold his arms in out of the wind, and nestle his head just under my chin.  I wrapped my arms around tight.

And I just held him.

I don't remember the last time this happened.  He is three-and-a-half and doesn't let me do this anymore.  But today, when he was miserable, he wanted to snuggle with Mommy.  I found myself tearing up, and then crying, and then sobbing a little.  The people passing us on the air tram must have thought I was crazy.  I was feeling utterly overwhelmed at the fact that this sweet, precious boy was mine.  I tried to pray but I couldn't even come up with words that seemed good enough to express this thing that was so much more than gratitude.  Instead I just asked God to read my heart.

I wanted the moment to last forever, but as our second round-trip was drawing to a close, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I knew Daddy was waiting for us.  I wiped my eyes, disembarked with my boy, and we headed home.